We are excited to bring an a dedicated episode all about inhalers. We know there are many type of inhalers, formulations and techniques that are needed for successful use and we cover them all. Take a listen today!
Meet our Guests
Amber Lanae Martirosov is an Associate Clinical Professor at Wayne State University and is an Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Specialist in Pulmonary at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan. Amber’s specific interests include appropriate inhaler use, medication access, ILD and advocating for pharmacy collaborations.
Nick Ghionni is a first year attending at the MedStar Baltimore Hospital System. He is fresh out of PCCM fellowship at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at Mercy Catholic Medical Center and his specific interests include mechanical ventilation, POCUS, and medical education. Nick is our newest member of the PulmPEEPs team and serves as an Associate Editor.
Device Overview
1. Metered dose inhaler (MDI): delivers a dose of medication when you press on the canister. 2. Dry powder inhaler (DPI): delivers powered medication with each inhalation. 3. Soft mist inhaler (SMI): which sprays a dose of medication when pressed
Inhaler Charts
We partnered with Pyrls to show common inhaler devices, formulations and dosing. You can create a free Pyrls account at pyrls.com or our app they can download an additional bundle/more awesome charts just like these totally free!
Brand P, Hederer B, Austen G, Dewberry H, Meyer T. Higher lung deposition with Respimat Soft Mist inhaler than HFA-MDI in COPD patients with poor technique. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2008;3(4):763-70. PMID: 19281091; PMCID: PMC2650591.
Levy ML, Carroll W, Izquierdo Alonso JL, Keller C, Lavorini F, Lehtimäki L. Understanding Dry Powder Inhalers: Key Technical and Patient Preference Attributes. Adv Ther. 2019 Oct;36(10):2547-2557. doi: 10.1007/s12325-019-01066-6. Epub 2019 Sep 2. PMID: 31478131; PMCID: PMC6822825.
Jindal S K, Pandey K K, Bose P P. Dry powder inhalers: Particle size and patient-satisfaction. Indian J Respir Care 2021;10:14-8
Spitzer WO, Suissa S, Ernst P, Horwitz RI, Habbick B, Cockcroft D, Boivin JF, McNutt M, Buist AS, Rebuck AS. The use of beta-agonists and the risk of death and near death from asthma. N Engl J Med. 1992 Feb 20;326(8):501-6. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199202203260801. PMID: 1346340.
Chang, YL., Ko, HK., Lu, MS. et al. Independent risk factors for death in patients admitted for asthma exacerbation in Taiwan. npj Prim. Care Respir. Med. 30, 7 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-020-0164-4
Today on our Rapid Fire Journal Club series, we’re discussing the Novel START study published in the NEJM in 2019. This study evaluated multiple strategies for the management of mild asthma with exacerbations, and it guides our current therapeutic approach. Pulm PEEPs Associate Editor Luke Hedrick walks us through the study. If you take care of asthma patients, be it in a primary care clinic, pulmonary clinic, or the hospital, make sure to listen in!
Article and Reference
Today we’re discussing the 2019 Novel START Study published in NEJM
Welcome back to Pulm PEEPs Fellows’ Case Files series. We are traveling to the midwest to visit The Ohio State University College of Medicine and hear about another great pulmonary case.
Meet Our Guests
Kashi Goyal is a second-year Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She obtained her MD at OSU, and then completed her Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She worked as a hospitalist and educator before going back to fellowship and remains passionate about medical education.
Lynn Fussner is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at OSU and has been there since completing her fellowship and Post-doctorate at Mayo Clinic. In addition to her clinical work in the multidisciplinary vasculitis clinic, she is a translational researcher with a focus on inflammatory pulmonary disorders and vasculitis.
Avi Cooper is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Ohio State University College of Medicine and the Program Director of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship. He is an Associate Editor at the Journal of Graduate Medical Education. Last but not least, he co-hosts the Curious Clinician Podcast, one of the most popular medical education podcasts.
Patient Presentation
Key Learning Points
**Spoilers Ahead** If you want to think through the case on your own we advise listening to the episode first before looking at these points.
The three most common causes of cough in adults in the USA are cough variant asthma, GERD, and post-nasal drip
A post-viral cough can last for 8-12 weeks and still be within normal
Sinus symptoms in a chronic cough can just be sinusitis and post-nasal drip, but should consider eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), cystic fibrosis, or ciliary dyskinesia.
Examination of a wheeze
Fixed sound vs variable
Pitch: larger central airways vs lower peripheral airways
Is it throughout the cycle or at a certain phase?
Ask the patient to cough before listening and ask them to breathe out through their mouth
Approach to eosinophilia in a patient with cough and dyspnea
Multi-system involvement vs lungs
Multi-system involvement
Vasculitis
Parasitic infection
Hematologic malignancy
Medication side effect
Primary hypereosinophilic syndromes
Within the lungs:
Parenchymal disease
Loeffler’s syndrome
Eosinophilic pneumonia
Airway disease
Asthma
ABPA
If you have a high suspicion for airways disease, PFTs should be requested with bronchodilator testing regardless of the degree of obstruction on baseline spirometry
Asthma alone should not cause ground glass opacities, so if see these in a patient with asthma we think about:
Infection, especially atypical infections
EGPA
Vasculitis with DAH
ABPA
Hypogammaglobulinemia or other immunodeficiency
EGPA diagnosis
ANCA testing is only positive in 60% of patients with EGPA so a negative test doesn’t rule it out by any means
It is easiest to make a diagnosis when there is a clear small vessel manifestation
Alveolar hemorrhage
Mononeuritis multiplex
Glomerulonephritis
Many patients with asthma, nasal polyposis, and high peripheral eosinophilia have EGPA but don’t have a clear small vessel feature of vasculitis or a positive ANCA
These patients typically have eosiniophilia a lot higher than when thinking about allergic phenotype asthma alone. As a rule of thumb, at least an absolute eosinophil count > 1000
We are excited to bring you another episode in our Pulm PEEPs Top Consults series! Kristina Montemayor and David Furfaro, are joined by Sandy Zaeh to discuss the assessment and management of a patient with a severe asthma exacerbation. We’ll follow a consult patient from the emergency department to the ICU, and cover everything from the physiology of pulsus paradoxus in asthma to how to manage the ventilator in status asthmaticus. Listen today and please send any questions our way on Twitter @pulmPEEPS.
Meet Our Guests
Sandy Zaeh is an Instructor of Medicine and Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine physician at Yale School of Medicine.
The Pulm PEEPs are excited to bring our first mystery case! Kristina Montemayor and Dave Furfaro hear a fascinating case presentation from Pulm PEEPs senior editor Ansa Razzaq. Join us as we work through this case together to come to a diagnosis, and share our thought process along the way. Come back to these show notes afterward, or once you’ve solved the case yourself, for some key teaching pearls and representative images.
Patient Presentation
A 66-year-old woman with no smoking history and past medical history of previously well-controlled asthma is referred to pulmonary clinic after multiple recent episodes of dyspnea, wheezing, and coughing. The episodes have features consistent with asthma exacerbations; however, they are also associated with migratory infiltrates. She has been treated with multiple courses of antibiotics and steroids, and despite escalating therapy, the episodes are occurring more frequently and she was worsening overall exercise tolerance. Listen in to hear more and try to solve the case!
Representative Imaging
Key Learning Points
**Spoilers Ahead** If you want to think through the case on your own we advise listening to the episode first before looking at the infographics below.